Playing as an individual unattached to the Fort Lewis College women’s golf team in terms of team scores, Molly Schwartz had the best tournament for FLC in Pueblo.
The freshman shot rounds of 8-over-par 80 and 15-over 87 to finish 29th overall at the women’s Sam Proal Invitational hosted by Colorado State University-Pueblo at the Pueblo Country Club.
And while Schwartz had a worse second round, the story was the opposite for every other FLC player Tuesday, as the five Skyhawks competing for a team score all improved in the second round. FLC shot 361 as a team on Monday and improved to 339 on Tuesday. But the results led to an eighth-place finish both days in the 10-team field.
“The conditions were tough for everyone,” FLC head coach Jim Foltz said in a team news release. “The greens were fast, and it’s windy this time of year in Pueblo. But after that bad start, what I saw was the determination to come back and post a number that was respectable. That showed me that we have a lot of girls who really want to go out and play, get better and keep building this thing.”
For Schwartz, the opening round of 80 came with three birdies. It was her first collegiate round.
“I was extremely impressed by Molly. To go out and shoot an 80 in her first collegiate round was tremendous,” Foltz said. “Those greens were so fast; a lot of teams and players were struggling with them.”
Emilia Manntz, a junior from Sweden, shot rounds of 86 and 83 for FLC to tie for 32nd. FLC senior Sophie Schwartz, older sister of Molly, shot 88 and 84 to tie for 37th. Kendal Gutierrez, another freshman, shot 93 and 84 to place 44th. Emma Tornoos, a sophomore from Sweden, shot 94 and 88 to tie for 48th, and Durango local Madalen Meier, a sophomore, shot rounds of 95 and 88 to placed 50th. There were 57 players in the field.
FLC will finish the fall season next week at the Ruidoso Junior Golf Association Shootout at Butterfield Trail Golf Club in El Paso, Texas. That tournament is hosted by Western New Mexico. FLC will then be on a break until February.
“I’m still looking for that top five that we’ll play in the spring and get ready for the RMAC Championships,” Foltz said. “The course is going to be tough in El Paso, and we’ll be bringing some of our longer hitters. There will be about five teams and about 10 individual players. We’ll be looking to earn a top three.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
